New Province-Wide Calling Plans + Limited-Time Offer on Canada-Wide Calling Plans

[Catherine_T]

[Edited: Feb 16, 3:45PM EST]

Hey Community, 

Public Mobile is introducing some changes to our suite of rate plans. Effective February 16, 2021, we will offer two types of plans: plans that include Province-wide minutes, and plans that include unlimited Canada-wide minutes. The Canada-wide calling plans will be priced at an additional $5/month, compared to the Province-wide calling plans.  All of our plans will continue to offer Canada-wide data and unlimited international texting.

We never take the decision of changing our plans lightly.  That's why, for a limited time, we’re offering our Canada-wide plans at a $5 discount. That means customers who value Canada-wide calling can still access these plans at the original prices before they change. 

The introduction of a Province-wide calling plan comes as a result of our commitment to give you more options on features and provide savings to help you create and customize the plan that’s right for you.  If you don't value Canada-wide calling, you can still access our plans starting at $15 per month.  If you value Canada-wide calling, it will continue to be available for an additional $5 per month. 

See below for more details on our new plans: 

New province-wide calling plans: 

Province-Wide Calling
Monthly Rate	Province-wide Minutes	Data (*with 500MB Autopay)
$15	100 Minutes	250MB
$25	Unlimited	1GB*
$35	Unlimited	2.5GB*
$40	Unlimited	5GB*
$45	Unlimited	6.5GB*
$50	Unlimited	8.5GB

For more information on how province-wide calling works, check out this Help Article.

Concurrent with this launch, we are offering $5 off all Canada-wide rate plans for a limited time. 

Canada-wide calling plans:

*Current promotion: $5 off Canada-wide plans for a limited time

Canada-wide Calling
Monthly Rate (*Promotion price)	Canada-wide Minutes	Data (*with 500MB Autopay)
$30 $25*	Unlimited	1GB*
$40 $35*	Unlimited	2.5GB*
$45 $40*	Unlimited	5GB*
$50 $45*	Unlimited	6.5GB*
$55 $50*	Unlimited + U.S. Talk	8.5GB

How to change your plan: 

1. Log in on Self Serve
2. Go to “Plan and Add-ons”
3. Select “Change Plan”
4. Select your preferred plan. You will have the option of changing your plan immediately or upon the next renewal date.

FAQ’s:

What happens to existing customers’ plans?

There is no impact to existing customers' plans. All customers’ plans will be grandfathered, including those who had scheduled rate plan changes before this update. Note, if you change your plan you may not be able to go back to your previous plan if it is no longer available on our website. 

What is happening to the $15 plan?

All plans in the Canada-wide suite have unlimited Canada-wide minutes. The $15 limited talk plan will remain in the Province-wide suite and will have 100 Province-wide minutes with 250MB of AutoPay data bonus.

Can I buy an add-on with Canada-wide calling?

Yes, we currently have a $5 for 500 Canada-wide minutes add-on available which you can purchase in Self-Serve.

How does Province-wide Calling work?

For more information on province-wideon how province-wide calling works, check out this Help Article. 

To learn more about Public Mobile plans, click here.

- The Public Mobile Team

[Anonymous]

 @FrostyButters : I don't believe it's correct that prices don't rise while on a plan in all cases with all Canadian providers. But I don't know current practice as I've been here for a couple years now. But I've certainly read of people getting their rates raised elsewhere thus driving people to come here with what were once lower rates.

I am defending nothing. It doesn't affect me so I don't care. That's not defending.

[FrostyButters]

@Anonymous plans are grandfathered with any mobile provider. This is an industry wide norm for mobile providers in Canada. PM has always done this when introducing new plans. PM is introducing new plans that no longer include Canada wide calling and charging new users an additional $5 for something that was included in previous plans.

Even if the price changes don't affect you right now, you are defending PM's position of adding an additional fee of $5 for Canada wide calling, which is supporting it.

[Anonymous]

 @FrostyButters : No. I was saying that the prices of the plans increase while you're on them. Here, the plans are grandfathered.

I'm not indicating any thanks or appreciation for the new rate structure. It doesn't affect me so I don't care.

[FrostyButters]

Are you suggesting that all of the other providers automatically force customers onto new plans except for telus?

There is no additional cost for the carrier for Canada wide vs provincial wide calling. They own all of the infrastructure. Its clearly a way to force users to pay more and you are thanking them for it. 

[gpixel]

Koodo BYOD Province wide/Canada wide text/Volte:

• $25 – Talk and Text, no data
• $45 – 3GB (this and other data plans include talk and text)
• $50 – 5GB
• $55 – 8GB
• $70 – 12GB

Koodo Province wide/International text Prepaid

• $25 - 250mb
• $40 - 2.5gb
• $45 - 5gb
• $55 - 8.5g

Public mobile Province wide/International text/3MB throttle:

• $23 - 1gb
• $33 - 2.5gb
• $38 - 5gb
• $43 - 6.5gb 
• $48 - 8.5gb 

[Anonymous]

 @FrostyButters : Yes. Classic. Like all the other providers that let you keep the plan you're on when they remove plans. Not. Here, plans are grandfathered.

Sure, a little more expensive plans for new customers, but when you're here you get to keep what you're on.

[FrostyButters]

Classic telus move. I’m glad I switched to Shaw mobile last summer. 

[Korth]

All this dotmobile talk seems to highlight what these Public Mobile price increases are really about.

Their strategy is not to focus on attracting new customers. It's to focus on retaining their existing customers. We're less likely to be swayed by tempting offers from elsewhere because once we switch away from our Canada-wide plans we won't be able to get them back. Those of us who've accumulated some Loyalty and Referral Rewards aren't going anywhere. But those of us who've joined more recently aren't particularly motivated to stick around forever - to wait years for the payoff - no reason not to enjoy signup bonus prices and bonus data with someone else next month, then another signup bonus somewhere else a few months later, etc.

When Public Mobile wants to return focus onto attracting new customers again they'll just run Canada-wide promos (for new activations only) at the same prices existing customers pay now.

[dabr]

---

@Asher2 wrote:

@dabr Nope I just decided to check and see if someone replied and tagged me yet. And you did, I still did not get email notifications though.

Update: Got email notification at 4:12pm. Almost 50 mins late

---

@Asher2   Just got your notice a couple of mins ago and a few more from others.  Yeah looks like this issue might be fixed, although still delayed perhaps...

[Asher2]

@dabr Nope I just decided to check and see if someone replied and tagged me yet. And you did, I still did not get email notifications though.

Update: Got email notification at 4:12pm. Almost 50 mins late

[kb_mv]

---

@darlicious wrote:

@Camera4617  @Asher2 and @BearFBI  

For good measure I added a second email at Dot mobile.....I wonder maybe there's only 5000 founding members after all.....with 2 accounts.

---

@darlicious I'm not sure why this never occurred to me ! LOL Rectified. Thanks for the reminder.

[dabr]

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@Asher2 wrote:

@darlicious Hmmm I only just saw this for some reason. Public Mobile is no longer giving me email notifications when I get tagged 🧐

Weird

---

@Asher2   This has been happening to me also for over two weeks (it comes and goes) and currently I'm not receiving any notices (I think).   There's another thread about this issue here: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Community/Notification-not-working-tonight/td-p/65721...

Let's see if you get my notice/tag... 😊

[Asher2]

@darlicious Hmmm I only just saw this for some reason. Public Mobile is no longer giving me email notifications when I get tagged 🧐

Weird

[computergeek541]

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@Chanah wrote:

I read somewhere that koodo is going to Canada-only texting (without an add-on). This is getting ridiculous.

---

I wish I could tell you that this wasn't true.  The best customers can hope for is that Rogers and Bell don't copy Telus and Telus is embarrassed into rolling back the changes.

[Chanah]

I read somewhere that koodo is going to Canada-only texting (without an add-on). This is getting ridiculous.

[dude65]

@maheshboloor ... I think we know who comes up these. Its the ones that want higher wages and bigger bonuses

[Camera4617]

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@darlicious wrote:

@Camera4617  @Asher2 and @BearFBI  

For good measure I added a second email at Dot mobile.....I wonder maybe there's only 5000 founding members after all.....with 2 accounts.

---

@darlicious I wouldn't be surprised that there are many people with more than one account, but I don't think it really matters. Even if it works, I don't need 2 lines for myself so somebody from my family will take it and become another customer. Not sure what dotmobile is getting unless they must have some base of customers to even get license. They know that where people are mostly spending money is data so since they will sell it, it is still a deal for them. So for them, this 'founding member' might be go/no go and they are fine to do it this way.. 

I hope it will become real thing. 🙂

[darlicious]

@Camera4617  @Asher2 and @BearFBI  

For good measure I added a second email at Dot mobile.....I wonder maybe there's only 5000 founding members after all.....with 2 accounts.

[gpixel]

@Pawprints1986 

https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carriers/telus/koodo-set-to-debut-province-wide-calling-canada-wide-to...

bells increase is in March. Rogers is also around that time

[maheshboloor]

Apparently this same change is happening on Koodo as well. Expect mass exodus from Telus flanker brands. I mean, who comes up with these change of plans. Smh.

[Pawprints1986]

Well this is certainly disappointing, thankfully no current interest in a plan change. But this is not "more options" but rather "less included" so people will have to still buy minutes. 

I know this was brought on by telus and not PM directly, but this is a *bad* move. 

Of note, they've done the same at koodo for prepaid and looks like are doing the same at telus as well

Also of note, chatr and lucky are still advertising Canada wide. Should anyone need to switch plan after the promo I can't see them sticking around here, unless they've built up enough rewards to make up the difference. But even then it won't feel like rewards anymore, but rather rewards bringing them to regular price

Do they have plans to eventually wipe out prepaid within the telus brands entirely? Or something. Post paid is still Canada wide at least at koodo, can't even imagine how angry they would be!

[Camera4617]

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@Asher2 wrote:

A year ago I thought that Dot Mobile was a scam. 

But now that there are many news stories about Dot Mobile and it has been approved by the CRTC as the first MVNO in Canada. I now believe it.

I may actually port over to Dot Mobile in the future, as I get a free full plan since I am a founder member..

---

Just a note that 'DotMobile' has extended their 'offer' till end of February for becoming founding member which means free phone/sms service for lifetime. You would just have to buy data but all other should be free. I'm really not sure if anything will come out of this, but it is not hard to go and create an account (or more of them) and see what happens. It costs you only few min to do that, nothing else. They don't require almost any information, like address or credit card or anything. Just a username and password. So I suggest you if you don't have an account, create one. If dotmobile becomes real thing, you will have free phone. If not, well you tried. 

🙂

[Korth]

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@gpixel wrote:

look at virgin mobile prepaid and take a look at what lucky is competing with. virgin has had these plans for a while now. the promo is 500mb and $5 off

---

Lucky and Virgin are both owned/operated by Bell. They're not really "competing" for anything other than the niche of customers who have strong love/hate bias between these two brands.

[gpixel]

look at virgin mobile prepaid and take a look at what lucky is competing with. virgin has had these plans for a while now. the promo is 500mb and $5 off

[XionBunny]

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@Korth wrote:

@Asher2 

Dotmobile has been a lot of hype so far. And even now, all the "official" news - dotmobile's status as an operator, recognition by the CRTC, etc - is only sourced from dotmobile's own website and all the webjournalism parrots who serve copypasta from it. It's not news, it's advertising. The more they want to sell it, the less you need to buy it.

I know people who've been very interested in dotmobile for a while. Because their (promised) structure for mobile data would be very affordable for IoT applications. I'm a little interested myself.

And to be fair, I was equally skeptical about Public Mobile before I joined them. Many of us were. But if I had never taken the chance then I (and my referrals) would still be stuck paying far too much for far too little elsewhere.

---

I trust Telus less than I do a possible new competitor in this space, the big three have been sucking our wallets dry even through these flanker brands and calling it a great deal for us all, and the old practices always return to empty our wallets, so I honestly like to have a bit of hope that the MVNO space will bring us the new competition we need, and even those companies take time to build so give it time.

[Korth]

@Asher2 

Dotmobile has been a lot of hype so far. And even now, all the "official" news - dotmobile's status as an operator, recognition by the CRTC, etc - is only sourced from dotmobile's own website and all the webjournalism parrots who serve copypasta from it. It's not news, it's advertising. The more they want to sell it, the less you need to buy it.

I know people who've been very interested in dotmobile for a while. Because their (promised) structure for mobile data would be very affordable for IoT applications. I'm a little interested myself.

And to be fair, I was equally skeptical about Public Mobile before I joined them. Many of us were. But if I had never taken the chance then I (and my referrals) would still be stuck paying far too much for far too little elsewhere.

[Chanah]

I believe they're not planning to go live until end of the year. Let's see what happens.

[Asher2]

A year ago I thought that Dot Mobile was a scam. 

But now that there are many news stories about Dot Mobile and it has been approved by the CRTC as the first MVNO in Canada. I now believe it.

I may actually port over to Dot Mobile in the future, as I get a free full plan since I am a founder member. 

I am just trying to figure out if Dot Mobile is the best way to go. Since I feel with cheap prices they may get bankrupt but I’ll see what happens.

[Chanah]

In my self-serve it gives the same - 250 megs. Weird if it's showing different amounts for the same plan.

[LurganIeUk]

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@AE_Collector wrote:

@LurganIeUk 

Yes it is much better than the change just being implemented overnight. But people dont see it for what it is.... their opportunity to give it some thought and schedule their change if they want to. They suddenly realize that they lost the opportunity when the option disappears and they did nothing.

For anyone who is on the plan they want already and isn’t immenently wanting to change to a different plan, you are good to go. Just ignore all of this, you will be left where you are with Canada Wide calling. In the future once the limited time sale is over, if you decide you need a plan with more data you will have two options (except on the $15 plan). The plan with Canada Wide calling at $5 more/30 days than it has been or same price plan but with Provincial Calling. 

AE_Collector

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Yes I agree. Where I am...I am happy 🙂 I have more than what I will use. And if I do need another plan I would hope they will put the >$15  plans on sale every now and then. Not good for some one that changes back and forth seasonally. 😉 ;).